Today I thought I’d post the recipe for some delicious Shredded Pork Enchiladas With Cilantro Lime Sauce I made recently. I made these enchiladas as a way to use up some leftovers in our refrigerator (pork chops and rice), but LOVE the “yumminess” that came out of that brainstorming session!
I used a green enchilada sauce that I made and canned this summer, and totally recommend making it (Cilantro-Lime Enchilada Sauce). It’s a very quick & easy fresh-tasting sauce to flavor the enchiladas (you don’t have to can it!), but if you are pressed for time, just use a good quality grocery store bought green enchilada sauce instead.

I made this recipe up just using my feeble old brain and some food items I had in our refrigerator, so I used leftover shredded pork, and some leftover wild rice… but you can make it work with whatever you have lurking in your fridge. Chicken, pork, wild rice or white rice… you really can’t hurt these enchiladas. Here’s what you do to make 4 large enchiladas (large enough we only needed one each to be full!):

Start with pre-cooked shredded pork or chicken. (I threw some leftover pork chops into the crock pot early in the day with some broth and re-cooked them until they shredded easily).

I also used some leftover cooked wild rice I found in the fridge (but you can substitute any cooked rice!)

I placed the pork and rice into a large skillet, stirred to combine, then added 1/2 cup of my homemade cilantro-lime enchilada sauce, mixed it together, then heated it through.

In another skillet, I quickly sauteed onions, red, green, and orange bell peppers, along with some garlic. Once they were cooked, I added them to the pork/rice mixture.

I added a small amount of sour cream, water, salt, cumin, chili powder, and fresh cilantro to the pork/rice mixture and stirred it all to combine (off the heat).

I poured a bit of the enchilada sauce onto the bottom of my baking dish, to slightly cover.

I spooned some of the pork/rice/veggie mixture down the middle of 4 medium sized (8 inch) flour tortillas. I added grated pepper jack cheese, then folded one end of the tortilla over the filling, rolled it and tucked in the other end of the tortilla. I laid the filled & rolled enchiladas seam-side down on top of the sauce.

I poured the rest of the enchilada sauce over the surface of the tortillas (cover as much as you can with the sauce), then added additional pepper jack cheese to cover.

I covered the pan with aluminum foil, then baked the enchiladas at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. I removed the foil about 5 minutes before they were done baking, and continued cooking. Once done and the cheese and sauce was bubbly, I removed pan from the oven, let it sit for a minute to firm up the cheese slightly.

The enchiladas were placed onto individual dinner plates with a garnish of sour cream and chopped cilantro. Each enchilada was pretty large, so my husband and I only ate ONE, and then enjoyed the leftovers for lunch the next day (and FYI- they were just as wonderful as the night before!).

I really enjoyed coming up with this recipe from leftovers from our fridge. It’s a great way to use up what you have, without wasting it!

I normally use corn tortillas and red enchilada sauce when I make our enchiladas, but these were so amazingly delicious, I will be making them again and again. Sure hope you will give them a try… and hope you enjoy them like we did! Have a fantastic day!

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1^st and 15^th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!

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Recipe Source: My brain, with a refrigerator full of leftovers!

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Pork Enchiladas With Cilantro Lime Sauce

Prep Time

35 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

Shredded pork enchiladas, covered in a delicious cilantro lime enchilada sauce.

Category: Entree

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: pork enchiladas

Servings: 4 servings

Calories Per Serving: 628 kcal

Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!

Ingredients

For Cilantro Lime Enchilada Sauce (may substitute store bought green sauce):

• 6 cups tomatillos , husks removed and quartered
• 1/2 cup brown onion , chopped
• 3 cloves garlic (sliced thinly, or use equivalent amount of minced garlic)
• 2 medium jalapenos , finely chopped
• 3 Tablespoons cilantro , chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

For Enchilada Filling:

• 2 cups shredded pork , shredded (may substitute chicken)
• 1 cup cooked rice (I used wild rice, but any kind is okay)
• 1/2 cup brown onion , chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (I used mix of red, orange, and green)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 Tablespoons sour cream
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 8" medium sized (8 inches) flour tortillas
• 2 cups pepper jack cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream (for garnish)
• chopped cilantro (for garnish)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. To make the lime-cilantro enchilada sauce:
2. Remove husks from tomatillos; rinse, then cut into quarters. Place into large stockpot, along with garlic /jalapenos; drizzle with olive oil. Cook veggies on medium high heat for 4-5 minutes.
3. Add water, cilantro, cumin, and salt to pan. Cover pan; simmer on low for 10 minutes, until tomatillos have softened. Once softened, use a blender, food processor, or immersion blender to process sauce until smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice;stir to combine. Set sauce aside.

To make enchiladas:

1. Combine shredded pork, and cooked rice in a large skillet. Add 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir to combine.
2. In separate skillet, saute onions and bell peppers for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Add minced garlic and cook an additional minute. Add the cooked vegetables to the pork/rice mixture, and heat through (1-2 minutes). Remove skillet from heat.
3. Add 2 Tablespoons sour cream, water, cumin, chili powder, and salt to the pork/rice mixture. Stir well to combine.
4. Spoon some of the remaining enchilada sauce over the bottom of a baking dish.
5. Spoon equal amounts of filling onto the flour tortillas. Add a generous sprinkling of pepper jack cheese to the top of the pork/rice mixture, making sure to save some to top the enchiladas with. Roll the enchiladas up, burrito style, then place, seam-side down on top of the sauce in baking dish.
6. Cover the enchiladas with additional sauce to ensure tortillas are fully covered.
7. Sprinkle remaining pepper jack cheese all over the top of the enchiladas.
8. Bake at 350 degrees (dish covered with aluminum foil) for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and continue cooking for 5 more minutes, or until sauce and cheese is bubbly.
9. Remove dish from oven. Let sit for a minute to let the cheese firm up. Serve enchiladas onto individual serving plates. If desired, garnish with a dollop of sour cream, and additional chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

If using my recipe for lime cilantro sauce, you will have extra sauce left over. It is easily freezable (freezer bags), if you wish to do so.

Nutrition Facts

Pork Enchiladas With Cilantro Lime Sauce

Amount Per Serving (1 enchilada)

Calories 628 Calories from Fat 279

% Daily Value*

Fat 31g48%

Saturated Fat 16g100%

Cholesterol 113mg38%

Sodium 2072mg90%

Potassium 798mg23%

Carbohydrates 55g18%

Fiber 5g21%

Sugar 28g31%

Protein 34g68%

Vitamin A 1190IU24%

Vitamin C 57.4mg70%

Calcium 564mg56%

Iron 3.2mg18%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Homemade Shredded Pork Tamales topped with a “made from scratch” California chile sauce, are a delicious classic Mexican dish that you will LOVE!
So… this year for Christmas Eve, I came up with a plan to try making pork tamales. I didn’t have a backup plan in case I failed miserably, but that didn’t stop me from taking the plunge into the big, daunting world of “homemade pork tamales”.

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Whose Crazy Idea Was This Anyways?

Why I had the hair-brained idea of breaking from our Christmas Eve traditional Italian meal and attempting to make tamales for the FIRST TIME is anybody’s guess. Oh well. I am happy to report that we DID NOT have to eat at a fast food place on Christmas Eve. These tamales turned out to be incredible (what a relief!).

I was definitely out of my “comfort zone” in the kitchen, but one thing I am constantly learning (thanks to my friend Shari, who inspires me always!), is to become more “fearless”. This has taught me to experiment more with new recipes and foods. This is one “experiment” I am thrilled to have tried.

I found a recipe for shredded pork tamales on Pinterest, and thought it sounded good. The author of the recipe said she was given this “authentic” recipe by a woman she met at an international market in the Mexican foods aisle (how bad can that be, right?). The recipe sounded good to me, so I decided to give making tamales a try. I actually cooked the pork roast in my crock pot and made the chile sauce the day before I made the tamales, so a large part of the prep was done ahead of time.

Making Pork Tamales Was A Fun Challenge For Me

The recipe is fairly easy to follow. Truthfully I think the hardest part was trying to tie the tamales up at the end before steaming them. Since I have mastered the art of tying my shoelaces, I found it amazing that it was “harder than I thought it was” to wrangle those tamales!  I persevered, fought the good fight with strands of corn husks and finally managed to get those beautiful tamales tied up. Yippee, and Olé!!! (Note: you don’t have to tie them, if you don’t want… I just think it holds them together much better while they are cooking!)

I hope you will give these a try. They are truly, wonderfully delicious. The recipe makes 16-18 tamales. We ate some, had more for leftovers, and froze some for another meal. I DEFINITELY recommend this recipe, and will be making these again. Here’s a few pictures from the process:

Some Photos Of the “Process”

First thing I had to do was purchase corn husks and masa at the local grocery store in the Mexican food section. Easy peasy!

I cooked the pork roast, onion, garlic & spices in a slow-cooker for 6 hours the day before I made the tamales. Here it is right at the beginning of the cook time.

Once the pork is fully cooked, it must be shredded. Here is some of the fully cooked, seasoned, shredded pork ready to put into tamales.

Making The Chile Sauce

The chile sauce is made using dried California chile pods. This was kind of cool. This mixture turned a dark color once it was done cooking.

After the chile sauce has been cooked, cooled, and strained, it is added to shredded pork. Sour cream is then added to the leftover sauce, turning it into a light brown color.This will be used to spoon over the finished tamales once they have been removed from their husks. (Sorry for the photo quality…)

Getting Ready To Cook The Pork Tamales

Pork tamales are filled, the bottoms folded up and under, and the husks are secured with a long pliable strand of corn husk. I think they look cute! The one in the middle escaped and had to be re-tied.

The tops of the tamales remain open, and the  tamales are then placed standing upright into a steamer basket in a large stockpot, and are steamed for 1 hour.

Time To Eat Pork Tamales!

When the tamales are done cooking, you remove the husks, place them on serving plates and spoon some of the chile sauce over the tops. Muy delicioso!!!!!

I’m not kidding you when I say these shredded pork tamales were absolutely delicious!  I felt very accomplished to have made these for the first time, and plan to make many more.  I was even able to tightly wrap some of them and freeze them for another day (and they were still good!).

It is a bit of a process to make these pork tamales, but honestly, it was worth every single minute! We LOVED them! I hope you will consider trying this recipe.

Looking For More Mexican-Inspired Recipes?

You can find all my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have quite a few Mexican-inspired recipes for you to enjoy, including:

• Easy Chile Relleno Casserole
• Grilled Fish Tacos with Baja Sauce
• Easy Cheesy Enchiladas
• Chicken Black Bean Quesadilla

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1^st and 15^th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Have a great day!

Recipe Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Real-Homemade-Tamales/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=real%20homemade%20tamales&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page&soid=sr_results_p1i1

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Pork Tamales

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

7 hrs

Total Time

8 hrs

 

Homemade Shredded Pork Tamales topped with a "made from scratch" California chile sauce, are a delicious classic Mexican dish that you will LOVE!

Category: Entree

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: pork tamales

Servings: 16 tamales

Calories Per Serving: 194 kcal

Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!

Ingredients

For Tamale Filling:

• 1 1/4 pounds pork loin or pork roast
• 1 large brown onion , chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

For Chile Sauce:

• 4 dried California chile pods (found in Mexican food aisle in most grocery stores)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

For Tamale Dough:

• 2 cups masa harina
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup lard or shortening (I used vegetable shortening)
• 1 (8 ounce) package dried corn husks
• 3/4 cup sour cream (add this to extra chili sauce and drizzle over tamales once removed from husk)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Place the pork into a Dutch oven or into a crock pot with the onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder and water. IF USING DUTCH OVEN, make sure pork is covered with water. bring water to a boil, reduce heat and cook pork on simmer for about 2 hours, or until the meat is cooked all the way through. IF USING CROCK POT, add about 1 1/2 cups water and cook for 6 hours on high. When meat is done, remove to plate and set aside to cool slightly.
2. While meat is cooling, make the sauce: Wearing rubber gloves, remove seeds and stems from dried chile pods (trust me, you want to wear gloves). Put the de-seeded chile pods into a small saucepan with 2 cups of water. Simmer the chiles for 20 minutes, uncovered. Remove pan from heat; let cool. Place the chiles and cooking water into a blender or food processor and blend until it becomes smooth. Run the sauce through a strainer to remove any leftover chile pods. Stir the salt into the sauce, then set the sauce aside (If making the sauce ahead of serving, refrigerate it overnight, then bring to room temp before serving!).
3. Using 2 forks, shred the cooked pork into a bowl. Add 1 cup of the chile sauce to the meat. Mix.
4. Soak the corn husks in a large tub or pan of HOT water. Let them soak for at least 15-20 minutes, so they become pliable. While they are soaking, make up the Tamale dough:
5. In a large bowl, or the base of a stand mixer, mix the shortening (or lard) with 1 Tablespoon of the beef broth. Mix this until it becomes fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine the masa harina, salt and baking powder. Stir these dry ingredients into the shortening. Add a more beef broth, a little at a time, and continue stirring until the dough becomes "spongy" (kind of like a thick peanut butter consistency.

6. Fill the tamale husks one at a time. Remove corn husk from water, dry it off, then spread the dough over the corn husks. Dough should not reach the bottom or the top of the husk ( I left about 2 inches on bottom, 2 inches on top, and 1/2 inch on each side. The dough should be between 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness. I kind of made a rectangle shape out of the dough (wetting my fingers to spread it out was a big help!). Once the dough is spread evenly onto the husk, spoon 1 heaping Tablespoon of shredded pork filling into the center, lengthwise (like filling a burrito) Fold the sides of the husk together in towards the center, fold the bottom part under and back, then tie the bottom part of the tamale with a long strand of another moist corn husk.

7. Repeat process with each tamale. Carefully stand the tamales up on top of a steamer basket in a large stockpot. Steam them (covered) for 1 hour. Remove from heat.
8. While tamales are cooking, mix the extra chile sauce with 3/4 cup sour cream until creamy; set aside (do not refrigerate).
9. To serve: Remove the tamales you are serving from their husks and place on serving plate. Spoon the chile sauce over the tops of the hot tamales. Serve.

Recipe Notes

Note that the cook time shown is for crockpot cooking of the pork roast. Time is dramatically cut if you cook it in dutch oven. Freeze or refrigerate extra tamales in their husks. I totally recommend cooking the meat the day prior to making the tamales. Then all you have to do is make sauce, dough, assemble tamales, and cook.

Nutrition Facts

Pork Tamales

Amount Per Serving (1 tamale (w/ sauce))

Calories 194 Calories from Fat 99

% Daily Value*

Fat 11g17%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Cholesterol 26mg9%

Sodium 387mg17%

Potassium 240mg7%

Carbohydrates 12g4%

Fiber 1g4%

Protein 9g18%

Vitamin A 120IU2%

Vitamin C 0.7mg1%

Calcium 50mg5%

Iron 1.4mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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